Hawkins

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

INTRODUCTION

This order Grants defendant’s motion for summary judgment as to plaintiffs claims for race discrimination, breach of contract, and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.

STATEMENT

Plaintiff Cecil Hawkins was employed by defendant Home Depot USA, Inc. from May 2001 to September 2001. He worked during that time as part of the night crew. As his regularly scheduled hours were 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., when the store was closed, he had very little contact with customers.

Defendant instituted a reorganization, eliminating the night-crew position effective October 1, 2001. Defendant created a freight-team-associate position that was similar to the night-crew position. To qualify for the freight-associate position, an applicant had to be able to work a flexible schedule. Furthermore, because the job involved customer contact, an applicant had to pass a sales-associate test.

According to defendant, plaintiff was given the sales-associate test on or about August 22, 2001, and failed the test. He was told that because of this, his last day of work would be September 28, 2001. Plaintiff questions…